Tyvek

Tyvek is a great product and I use it on all my wood frame constructions.  It's basically a spun polyethylene  paper which is normally applied over the sheathing of a structure but under the final finishing such as siding.  It provides a moisture barrier as well as improving insulation by reducing drafts.  I had a 15 year old roll of the stuff sitting around which I decided to use up on this little shed project.  I got three sides of the structure done but did not have enough to do the fourth wall.  I bought a new roll at a local building materials supplier.  I find it interesting to note that in the years between my purchasing of the old roll and the new roll, the Dupont company thought it necessary to change the labeling on the product from "Tyvek Housewrap" to Tyvek Homewrap" as you can see in the picture below.  I think this is a brilliant move on the part of Dupont.  I am much more likely to buy a construction material with the word "home" in it rather  than the word "house".  Indeed, like most Americans, when I hear the word "house", I can only think of stark structures with lonely, cold rooms haunted by the disembodied spirits of deceased child molesters whereas the word "home" brings to mind bucolic fantasies of fresh baked desserts and puppy dogs.  Of course the real estate industry discovered this many years ago.  It has been decades since anyone has bought a house in America but a large number of homes certainly have been purchased.  This has even extended into the rental side of things in that now one doesn't rent a mere apartment, but rather an"apartment home".  As a nation we have to continue this semantic crusade of felicitousness.  Consider how much better we all would feel about the government if our congressmen were to meet in the "Home of Representatives" or if the president were to inhabit the "White Home".  This concept could even be extended to entomology.  Why, you surely would hardly be bothered at all if the insect buzzing around your head while you sit in your family room watching the ball game was commonly known as a "homefly".

The Shed Enclosed

I continued working on the shed exclusively since Thanksgiving hoping to get it water (and snow) tight as soon as possible.  

It still needs finish work such as siding but with the roof on, the tyvek applied, and the door installed it can be used for storage.

This is probably the last time this space will be this empty.

Holiday Help

Our shed was supposed to be finished in July.  Of course it was never the main event of our build project but it would be very useful to have a storage shed especially with the colder weather coming on.  To move us along, my wife's sister Susan, her husband Doug, and their daughter Liza came out for a day after Thanksgiving to help with the framing.  The weather was pleasant, we all had a great time, and a lot got accomplished.  Thanks guys!

Kathryn and my niece ride up to the build site with a load of tools and supplies.

Doug, Sue, and Liza team up on some framing.

Doug and Liza deftly handle a sheet of plywood.

The B21 Rolls Again

It took nearly three weeks but we finally completed the repairs to the B21 tractor.  We had to remove the front axle and disassemble the left side bearing box to get at the bearing that had failed.  In the process we discovered that at some point in the tractor's past someone had replaced this particular bearing before.  We could tell this from the grind marks on the inside of the bearing housing.  Evidently during this earlier event the technician had difficulty removing the bearing from the housing and resorted to grinding it out.  We found this repair history a little curious for two reasons.  First was the fact that the bearing had failed before.  Now bearings do wear out with time but this particular bearing is not the typical fail point - far more likely would be one of the main axle support bearings.  These, however, were fine.  The second thing that was funny was that the bearing had to be ground out - they should just slide out from the recess in the housing where they are located.  Indeed this time I had difficulty removing the old bearing.  I didn't grind it out, but I had to build a special pry tool in order to pull it out of its recess.  Once the old bearing was out we realized that the new bearing would not fit nicely into the recess.  At this point we decided to go ahead and replace the entire housing.  Perhaps the bearing failure in the past had distorted the housing or perhaps the housing was never quite in spec and the bearing had never seated properly.  In any event it was for us more delay as we ordered the part.  When it finally arrived we went ahead and assembled the bearing box and the rest of the front axle.  Everything went together well and I am confident that this particular bearing will last a very long time.  While we were at it we replaced the front tires.  The previous owner of the tractor had for some inexplicable reason put on front tires that were too large in diameter.  The result of this was that when the tractor was in four wheel drive mode (which it is 95% of the time) the front and back tires rotated at slightly different speeds which tended to tear up our new roads a bit.  On the day after Thanksgiving we finally had everything back together and the tractor rolled again.

Perc Test

In order to get a building permit in Morgan County WV, your land must first pass a perc test.  Morgan County is by no means a heavily regulated area but you are required to have a septic system if you are going to build a structure where people can dwell.  The first step of that process is to find a licensed company to carry out a so-called perc test to see how well your land can absorb water.  The hope is that your land percolates well enough so that you can install a type 1 leach field which is the simplest (and cheapest) way to go.  We found Billy Sheets of Hard Rock Excavation in Slanesville, WV on the advice of a neighbor.  The test requires a number of holes to be dug the largest of which is a 6 foot deep trench.  Billy came with his large New Holland backhoe to do this in short order.  We passed our perc test and we will have all the official paperwork in a couple of weeks.

We Rent a Bobcat

With our tractor down due to a failed wheel bearing we could not continue excavation.  We decided to rent a Bobcat skid steer loader for a week to keep us moving along while we waited for our parts order to come in.  The weather was perfect for a number of days and we moved a lot of dirt.

The Bobcat proved to be a very useful machine.

Work on the shed continued as well.

Busted Bearing

The snow is gone and it's not raining and the ground has dried out enough to continue excavation.  All is good and we are going great guns moving many cubic meters of dirt each day.  Then it happens.  A crunching, clanking sound from the B21 tractor.  At first we though it was a bad universal joint.  We knew we had a bad U-joint and even had gone ahead and purchased a replacement.  We just had not yet installed it.  No more procrastination.  We installed the new U-joint the next day.  Feeling clever we rolled out our tractor with its shiny new universal joint only to be instantly disappointed when the grinding, crunching sound persisted.  Yes we needed a new U-joint, but apparently our problem went deeper.  After much disassembly we finally identified our problem as a failed ball bearing in one of the front gear boxes.  This is not a simple quick fix.  We are going to be down for a while waiting for the parts.

We had to disassemble the entire front axle of the tractor.

If you use a log as a jack stand - You might be a redneck.

This is the gear box which contained the failed bearing.

A Shed is Born

While Nick and I excavated, Kathryn came for the weekend and worked on building a 10 x 10 storage shed.  This is a project that was supposed to be completed in July so I guess you could say that we're a bit behind schedule.  As our project develops so does the array of equipment we have on site.  The shed will give us a large and secure place to store tools while we continue to work into the winter.

Kathryn cuts a pressure treated 2x6.

The shed will be erected on a level platform resting on pyramid blocks.
We use this type of construction for small structures on our land.
It is quicker and easier than pouring a concrete pad and is stable.

Diagonal bracing provides extra rigidity.

Here at days end, Kathryn attaches the plywood to complete the level platform that will become the floor of the shed.

Excavation Continues - A Large Stump is Removed

The weather has improved a bit this month and we have been able to step up the pace of the excavation.  There was a large tree in the build zone which we have dug out on three sides as the cut grew larger.  Today we reached the point of finally being able to knock the stump over and remove it.

The stump was too firmly rooted to remove
until we had cut out the dirt all around it.

Nick poses on the stump peninsula.

The stump is detached.  Now we just have to move it out of the excavation site.

The Morning After the Storm

The sun came out the morning after our snowstorm.  I suspect the snow will melt quickly and we will be back in business soon enough.  The stuff is quite pretty to be sure.

Persephone Leaves Early - Snow in October

It seems the weather just won't give us a break.  Torrential rains in September continued into October.  We were starting to get some good runs of excellent digging weather and were finally starting to make some rapid progress when this strange snowstorm descended on us.  By the time it was over 8 inches of snow blanketed our site.

The heavy wet snow bent branches to the ground.

Our equipment sits idle as do we.

Our camper provides refuge.

The excavation site is frosted like a dirt cake.

These branches on the ground broke out of the trees due to the weight of the snow.

Slowly, Steadily, Excavation Continues

Progress on excavating the build site has been slow.  The frequent Autumn rains has made it impossible to dig for days on end.  One of the challenges is that we are not only trying to remove dirt from the build site, but to construct roads with the excavated material.  A professional excavation company would generally have the simpler mandate of simply removing material from the build site and piling it in a huge mound somewhere else on the property or hauling it away in dump trucks.  We, however, wish to construct raised, crowned roads leading through the property.  This requires that the dirt be removed from the build site bucketful by bucketful and deposited in an organized pattern somewhere else.  This, of course, takes time.  Also, the dirt has to have the right moisture content.  If it is too wet, it becomes flowing mud which will not pack down and consolidate quickly.  (It will eventually dry out but until it does, it is a slippery flowing mass which cannot be driven on.)  We are surely making our task more difficult than others would consider but we feel the end result will, eventually, be worth it.

We have so far excavated this flat area
 but it has to be much larger before we are done.

Here, I pick up a load of newly excavated dirt with the tractor.

Elsewhere, I deposit it, spread it around, and compact it to form new road bed.

A New Storage Tent Eleven Years in the Making

With the onset of less than dry weather this Autumn we realized that we needed someplace to keep some of our building supplies and equipment out of the elements.  We built a level platform on the hillside above our building site and erected a 12 x 20 foot vinyl tent shed on top of it.  It's nice and big with plenty of storage room inside and being on a wooden platform above ground level it is nice and dry inside.  I had actually bought this tent in 2000 with the intent of setting it up in the backyard of my house in northern Virginia.  My wife thought that it was too big for that location (She's right, it is) so I have been storing it for 11 years waiting for something useful to do with it.  At our build site in West Virginia it is not too big and it is very nice to see it finally put to productive use.

Mohawk Moth

We found this guy clinging sleepily to a bucket outside our trailer one cool morning.  Now there are a lot of interesting and curious creatures here in West Virginia but this member of the order Lepidoptera surely is one of the more unexpected.

 

Storybook Mushrooms

Nick spotted these mushrooms growing out of knots in a small tree near our campsite.  It has been a great year for fungus in West Virginia.  The record rains have been manna for mycelium of all sorts this Autumn.

Foul Weather Fashion

Sometimes we feel resolute enough to want to work even when it is cold and rainy.  It is preferable, however, not to get too wet at such times.  To facilitate our foolishness we decided some plastic rain gear would be in order.  We went to a local purveyor of outdoor supplies in Winchester called Gander Mountain in search of such garments.  This being the "country" and also hunting season, the only style they had were in camo.  So thus outfitted, you can see that we blend into the background of the forest and perhaps into West Virginia as a whole.

Nick in plastic camo

If I were not standing next to an orange tractor I would surely be invisible.

Rain Rain Rain

It has been raining almost every day during the month of September.  The contrast in the land from a few short weeks ago has been striking. (see post of 13 Aug) The rain has washed out sections of our new roads and made excavation of the building site virtually impossible.  We were hoping to have the site excavated by the end of September but now it looks like we will be delayed at least four weeks, and that assumes the rains do not continue into October.  Even once it stops raining we will not be able to immediately resume excavations because the mud will take a while to dry up.  We will hope for the best and continue when we can.  The video below shows the stream on our land.  A few weeks ago it was dry without a trace of water in it.

A New Generator

The Honda generator (seen in my post of 10 Aug 2011) was actually purchased as an emergency backup power source for our domicile in Northern Virginia.  I have been wanting to buy something else for West Virginia and now I have finally got around to it.  I got a good deal on a 3500 Watt Champion generator at Camping World in Winchester.  It has the same power output as the Honda but is a bit noisier.  To compensate for the decibel level, we decided to give it its own little spot 150 feet from the trailer.  I built up a little level pad site for it along side of the road and constructed an A-frame tarp cover to put over it.  It is far enough away that the sound level is acceptable and we don't have to bring it under the awning of the trailer every time it rains.  And we can bring the Honda generator back home.

The new generator in its new home.

The generator looking very cozy under its tarp.

A Pastoral Morning

We have had some grey and rainy days of late but this morning was exceptionally nice.

Morning sunlight filtering through the trees on a location on our land with a southern exposure.

The reflection of the treetops in the still water of our stream.

Excavation Begins

For three months we have been cutting down trees, clearing brush, and preparing roads to our building site.  We have had delays due to weather, first the excessive heat and dryness of mid-summer and more recently the onset of autumn rains.  We have had to alter our site plan several times due to uncertainties about where we can locate things such as the septic system and the well and we have had our share of equipment breakdowns to delay us further.  But now we are ready to commence the excavation of the first building site.  We have a lot of dirt to move.  We don't know exactly how long it will take and we are hoping that we don't encounter some obstacle like a huge rock we can't move.  It will take hundreds of bucketfuls of dirt but the process has begun.

The first scoop

Job Box on Site

I bought a big 3068 job box by Knaack to solve some of our tool storage problems at the build site.  I probably should have done this three months ago as we have had a storage problem from the outset of our project.  Better late than never though.  We now look like very official construction nerds with our job box.

I bought the job box in Alexandria, Virginia and hauled it out to WV on my trailer.

It's heavy, about 200 lbs (90 kg), so it is good to have a tractor with pallet forks to move it. 

Empty or filled with tools, no one is likely to run away with it.

Fixing the B21 (again)

Our old Kubota B21 is a great workhorse.  Like any machine that is worked hard, it will occasionally need repair.  It died on us a few days ago and Nick traced the problem to a failed fuel cutoff solenoid.  To stop a diesel engine, you interrupt the flow of fuel.  This can also stop a gas engine but usually the electric spark can be interrupted to stop the engine.  There is no electric spark in a diesel so the fuel cutoff is all you got.  On some older machines this was done mechanically with a lever operated valve.  On our tractor they got fancy and used an electrically powered solenoid.  If the solenoid fails, however, there is never any fuel to the engine so it doesn't run.  We bought a new solenoid valve, installed it, and we were back in business at a cost of $135.

This was the culprit.

Back in business moving dirt.

Spotty Amphibian

Kathryn found this salamander and put him in a 5 gallon bucket.  He didn't like being there very much and proceeded immediately to escape.  After a brief photo shoot we let him go in a safe place.  He didn't demand any residuals.

Climbing to freedom.

Where's Super Ted?